.
At 0600 Williams
ordered his battalion to counterattack at 0615, the break of dawn.
In 10 minutes all companies were alerted and jumped off promptly at
the designated time. The order, "Charge," came down the line and the
Marines, sailors, and soldiers attacked with fixed bayonets,
"yelling and screaming . . . cursing and howling . . ." Gunner
Ferrell tried to use the 1st Battalion Stokes mortars to support the
attack, but again the rounds were too inaccurate for use. Companies
Q and R rapidly gained ground on the left, but Company S ran at once
into heavy machine gun fire and was halted after moving only 100
yards.
Company T also ground to a
halt after gaining little ground. The Japanese sent up flares which
brought a prompt response from the artillery on Bataan. In 10
minutes the gunfire halted and Company T resumed the attack on the
ground around Battery Denver, but machine gun fire quickly halted
the advance. A machine gun position on the north road was knocked
out, as was another in the ruins on Battery Denver Hill, but at
heavy cost.
Major
Schaeffer was pinned down in his command post by these two machine
guns and had lost contact with his men. When the fire was silenced,
he rose from his position, a mixture of dirt and blood from wounds
running into his eyes, blinding him. Despite his wounds, Schaeffer
tried to reorganize his men and explain to Williams what had
happened. Major Williams had Schaeffer cared for and calmly took
control of the action.
Photograph courtesy of
61st Infantry Association |